Um den heißen Brei herumreden

Literally: To talk around the hot porridge

Example: “Rede nicht um den heißen Brei herum und sag mir, was die Reparatur kostet.” — Stop beating around the bush and tell me what the repair costs.

English equivalent: To beat around the bush

Origin: The 16th-century original wasn't about talking at all: the older form ran wie die Katze um den heißen Brei schleichen — to creep around hot porridge the way a cat does. Hot grain porridge was a genuine everyday staple food, and a household cat, drawn by the smell of a freshly cooked pot on the table, would circle it warily, kept back by real appetite on one side and the very real risk of a burned tongue or whiskers on the other. Human speech that circles nervously around an uncomfortable topic, unwilling to state it plainly, follows the identical pattern: real interest in saying the thing pulling against a real fear of the consequences of actually saying it directly.